This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/386,105, filed Sep. 24, 2010, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. The present invention relates to a partial bed cover and tailgate seal for use in many trucks, particularly dump trucks and articulated haulers.
Many dump trucks, including articulated haulers and off-road dump trucks, are used to haul material to an off-site location. Often times the material is a slurry, such as mud, containing a liquid, usually water. Strict regulations control the transport of this material to ensure that the mud does not escape from the bed of the truck or trailer. This is a particular problem in mountainous regions, because, when climbing a steep hill, the mud tends to flow to the rear of the trailer and may overflow over the top of the tail gate and leak along the full width of the truck bed along the line where the tailgate abuts the bed.
So far, the solution has been to load the truck with far less than a full load so that the trailer will not overflow. This makes the hauling very inefficient and expensive as well as adding undesirable traffic on mountain roads. It also does not solve the problem of leakage of liquid along the line where the tailgate abuts the bed.